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The 11th national assembly is set to open the first parliamentary session of the new year on Thursday.
The session, presided over by Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, will open at 4:00 pm, according to the Parliament Secretariat.
In line with constitutional norms, President Abdul Hamid will deliver a speech, his final one as president, at the first session of the year. Later, a thanksgiving motion on the head of state's speech will be tabled, which will be at the heart of discussions for most of the session, reports bdnews24.com.
The Constitution limits the number of presidential terms to two, which means that Hamid's nine-year tenure as the head of state will end in April. Hamid was sworn in as the 20th president of Bangladesh on April 24, 2013. On February 7, 2018, he was elected as president uncontested for a second term.
The 20th session of the current parliament ended on November 6. As per the Constitution, the gap between parliamentary sessions cannot exceed 60 days.
Prior to the upcoming session, the parliamentary advisory committee will meet at 3:00 pm to fix the timing and agenda of the session.
At the start of the session, the house will select a presidium to preside over proceedings in parliament in the absence of the speaker and the deputy speaker.
Law Minister Anisul Huq will also table the Energy Regulatory Commission (Amendment) Ordinance. The amendment will allow the government to unilaterally fix energy prices under special circumstances.
A condolence motion commemorating the deaths of notable individuals will then be placed, followed by the president's speech.